So many skills to learn and so little time. Here are a few skills that can make a difference on the homestead.
Show Notes: PermacultureVelocity.com 

5 Must Have Homesteading Skills - PVP16

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Freezing is quick and easy—I understand why folks are fans. Chop green peppers, put in plastic bags, and toss in the freezer. Blanch and peel tomatoes, pack in freezer-safe containers, and stash in freezer. No doubt that freezing has a place in a preservation kitchen. I prefer to use a freezer as one of several preservation methods and not rely on it heavily. A freezer failing would make me sad and freezers fail from time to time. Instagram: Soirée-Leone Website: soireeleone.com Producer: Marina Darling Recorded in beautiful Hampshire, Tennessee Try a Podcasting 2.0 Certified app: Podfriend - Breez - Sphinx - Podstation - Curiocaster - Fountain In my freezer I stash, chopped bell peppers, tempe, bacon, some meats, blueberries, and pesto in small jars. Sometimes I freeze broth if I only have a few quarts and not enough to fire up the pressure canner. I rarely freeze leftovers as they take up valuable freezer space that I’d rather fill with bacon or pesto. I prefer to pressure can rather than freeze. Meat, chicken, fish, broth, carrots, beans, tomato sauce, and so forth are ready to use—no need to remember to defrost. I seem to remember to defrost exactly when I would like to making whatever it is that is frozen. Jars of foods that can put food on the table quick—no defrosting required. When I am canning I prefer to can tomato sauce and tomato paste so the food is ready to go in the way that I tend to enjoy it. Cooking down all the tomatoes at once rather than lots and lots of jars of whole or diced tomatoes. Tomato paste ready for adding rich tomato flavor or pizza night. Canned beans—5-pounds of dried beans yield about 18 pints of canned beans ready to go. Soup on the quick—broth, meat, vegetables, beans, fermented sour corn or kimchi, and perhaps some leftovers or sauté garlic and onions—dinner. Whether freezing or canning be sure to label and apply first in, first out best practices.

Choosing a Preservation Method—Canning or Freezing?

 Perpetual ferments like nuka pickling beds and pao cai are wonderful because they allow one to add and remove vegetables (and fruits) as needed to ferment then enjoy—fermented turmeric paste is another perpetual ferment. I love having the turmeric paste around as we are a household of two and having one jar of paste around is perfect for adding a handful of vegetables to then enjoy. It’s perfect when you have a radish or an apple or a couple cucumbers. The first step to all this convenient fermentation is to ferment the paste. Following Adam James’s lead in Sandor Katz’s Fermentation Journeys, combine 400 grams turmeric root, 400 grams turnips, 300 grams peeled garlic, and add 4% salt in a blender and blitz until it’s a paste. I found that using my food processor didn’t yield a paste. I then fermented the paste in a 3 liter jar for nearly six weeks because I forgot—it was during winter so it would’ve taken a bit longer to be happy. I didn’t stir as the recipe indicated due to the same forgetfulness—there was some darkening on the top of the paste—but it was fermenting along happily and smelled terrific. Now the turmeric paste is happy and ready to accept foods to be fermented. I found that I love the dramatic presentation of turnips, radishes, yellow or brown onions, grapes, apples, pears and Asian pears, and cucumbers. In the summer time they are usually tasty wonderful after 3 or 4 days—in the winter it takes a week or two. I’ve found that if I need to add to the jar because the paste is running low or needs more salt, I make a half batch or so—adjusting the salt as needed—and add it to the existing paste. Stir and resume using the paste after a few days. While I am sure that the creative culinary folks will have lots of ideas about using the turmeric paste for cooking or adding to other ferments, I always use it to get a curry kicked off. It’s more than half way there—sauté some garlic, ginger, etc. add the paste, and add a can or two of coconut milk. Done. Add tofu or meat if you like. Dinner on the quick along with some noodles or rice. Instagram: Soirée-Leone Website: soireeleone.com Producer: Marina Darling Recorded in beautiful Hampshire, Tennessee Try a Podcasting 2.0 Certified app: Podfriend - Breez - Sphinx - Podstation - Curiocaster - Fountain

Turmeric Paste Perpetual Ferment

Complete show notes: soireeleone.com/podcast Recommended reading: Lloyd Kahn’s The Septic Tank Owner’s Manual. Shelter Publications, 2017. Or start with the tons of free information: https://oasisdesign.net/wastewater/septic/failure.htm Some recommendations: Use grey water friendly products. This is good practice to get ready for having a grey water system or moving to a rural area with a septic tank. The major consideration is sodium and boron (borax) as ingredients. Learn more about grey water: https://oasisdesign.net/greywater/ or https://greywateraction.org/greywater-faq/ Instagram: Soirée-Leone Website: soireeleone.com Producer: Marina Darling Recorded in beautiful Hampshire, Tennessee Try a Podcasting 2.0 Certified app: Podfriend - Breez - Sphinx - Podstation - Curiocaster - Fountain

Care of the Homestead Septic Tank

Complete show notes: soireeleone.com/podcast In 2008 there was flurry of folks starting gardens and again in 2020—both coupled with a run on canning jars. A gardener needs jars to put up the harvest—so do plan for a garden doing well—if not this year then next year. Buy canning jars and other preservation equipment and ingredients well ahead of canning season. Instagram: Soirée-Leone  Website: soireeleone.com My garden book recommendations: https://www.soireeleone.com/resources/gardening My favorite garden book: Alys Fowler's Garden Anywhere: How to grow gorgeous container gardens, herb gardens, kitchen gardens, and more—without spending a fortune. Chronicle Books, 2009. If you are in the Southeast U.S., I highly recommend: Ira Wallace's Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast. Timber Press, 2013. Producer: Marina Darling Recorded in beautiful Hampshire, Tennessee Try a Podcasting 2.0 Certified app: Podfriend - Breez - Sphinx - Podstation - Curiocaster - Fountain

Garden Happiness

I love cheesemaking. When I first learned to make cheese in 1991, I didn’t think or know that I should be scared or concerned about doing it wrong. I was raised with a can do attitude, just do it, learn, learn more, then down the road master it or at least be better at it. There are risks but cheeses often tell us we screwed up. Bloated, bouncy cheeses are obvious for example. Off colors and undesirable textures and smells are also obvious. Quite unlike Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism, hanging out with nary a sign of its paralyzing presence looming in a jars of home canned food, improperly cured meats, and so forth. Absolutely employ good milking practices from a healthy herd, milk from a trusted source, attentiveness to cleanliness of the cheesemaking equipment, etc but beyond that I just jumped in and still jump in—I didn’t have anyone or the internet to warn me otherwise. With one thin cheesemaking book that I picked up used, I dove in. Some of my first cheeses were from allowing milk to naturally clabber and junket rennet cheeses. I was so excited when I spotted junket rennet at the local Hy-Vee! I didn’t know about chymosin and pepsin and the difference between junket which is for making custards and legitimate cheesemaking rennet. But, I made cheese and it was exciting. It opened up a whole world to me—a world that I love dearly to this day. Instagram: Soirée-Leone  Website: soireeleone.com Recommend Reading  Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Gianaclis Caldwell   This book is a master class in book form and I highly recommend this book. She also has another book Mastering Basic Cheesemaking but if you are ready to get in the fast lane then Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking is a great start. Rather than mimicking cheeses from around the world; learn what makes all the different textures, flavors, and so forth. Make a cheese that is truly your own even if using commercial cultures. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to duplicate the famous cheeses or regional specialities as so much relies on those pastures, those dairy animals, that climate, those caves and aging spaces, those techniques, that equipment, that scale, and so forth. Be inspired by all those magical cheeses and make your very own.  The Art of Natural Cheesmaking by David Asher  With a solid foundation in making cheese from Gianaclis you can make some amazing natural cheeses (no commercial cultures, non-GMO rennets or alternative rennets, natural wrapping, washing, brushing etc.) Make a cheese that truly represents your local terrior.  And also check out Trevor Warmedahl on Instagram and prepare to have your mind blown! milk_trekker He also has a substack so check that out too.Thank you for sharing the wealth of your travels Trevor!  Producer: Marina Darling Recorded in beautiful Hampshire, Tennessee Try a Podcasting 2.0 Certified app: Podfriend - Breez - Sphinx - Podstation - Curiocaster - Fountain  

5 Must Have Homesteading Skills - PVP16

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